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Reviewing Executive Protection

History of Executive Protection

The idea behind EP is said to date back to days of the Roman Empire where they had the

Praetorian Guards that acted initially as bodyguards for general before the rise of royalty where

they offered security services to roman emperors. The unit is said to have grown all too powerful

to the extent that it exerted influence on who should be on the throne. Nevertheless, the outfit

came to end with its disbandment by Constantine I in 312AD.

King Henry VII later established the Yeomen of the Guard in 1485. They were tasked

with travel security for the king in both leisure and battle. Moreover, they were tasked with

guarded the palace especially when occupied by the king. The outfit is still in existence albeit for

ceremonial purposes. Besides the above two examples, the samurai in Japan, housecarls of

Scandinavia and Vatican’s Swiss Guards are all considered as the historical version of EP. Key

to note is the fact that they were more of a military outfit as opposed to a special police or private

security unit.

Suffice to say that the transition of the EP from a military outfit to a more police oriented

one begun with the US Secret Service in 1865. Despite the fact that the US Secret Service was

first tasked with currency issues, President Cleveland had them offer him security from 1894

albeit on a partial basis. Following the assassination of President McKinley, the US Secret

Service was formally tasked with protecting the US President as from 1902.
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Key to note about the nature of EP in the past is that it relied a lot in the use of a simple

weaponry such as swords and guns and light amour. The modes of transport used in the process

were those pertinent to the prevailing technological advances on the day. moreover, the level of

intelligence gathering use was based on what was able to be collected and shared using

communication channels available in the time period. In other words, EP back in its early years

was significantly based on the level of technology and threats of the day. for example, in the case

of the US Secret Service, the president was only accorded two details for protection as the then

administration measured the threat level based on the prevailing circumstances then.

Emerging Trend

Travelling to foreign nations particularly those regarded as hot sites presents serious

concerns to EP. When overseas, predicting risks becomes increasingly challenging particularly

with the convergence of geopolitics and consumerism amongst the global population. To this

end, coming up with a technology that mitigates risks from the above convergence of ideology to

avert kidnaps and assassinations is a monumental challenge.

Nevertheless, the future holds for increased use of location technology whose core

functionality lies with gathering and consolidating data in the fastest and most secure means

possible in such a manner that assists EP in supporting and recovering assets. The following are

four key areas that are for the future.

Two-Way Tracking

As noted above, EP need technology that may be able to relay location data in the most

secure and fastest means possible. To this end, technology is focusing on devising a way in

which security personal may communicate with one another via secure SMS. The technology
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holds that it may be downloaded into smartphones and smart watches after which, the end user

logs in through secure network frequency that relies on 5G internet connectivity. From the

software platform, the end user may be easily traced as the moment they are logged in, the

command centre is able to trace them via GPS.

However, this is not the core proprietary technology as the one that is under development

is where the end user may simply touch the screen and select the nature of distress to the

command centre and relay the SOS in the form of an SMS only that they will not have to type

anything. Instead, the software would collect data from the end users position and send a

message with the location and nature of SOS to the command centre.

Geo-Fencing

Geo-fencing will work under the premise that there are certain boundaries and zones

designated as high-risk cites. These are usually embedded within the tracking devices that the EP

personnel would be carrying. As such, when the EP is escorting the asset to a function and they

happen to walk into the fenced area, they would be immediately notified in their comms for them

to be combat ready. Key to note with the technology is that the fencing is dynamic to the extent

that should an area move from being friendly to hostile, the software immediately updates the

EP team in the field.

Spatially Integrated Support

In addition to the above, the future holds for a spatially integrated support that avails a

number of sources of security related data which is further analyzed and composed to offer

situational awareness information to EP personnel. With the integrated platform, law

enforcements are informed of the location of the assets in the event that they are overrun by
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hostiles. In addition, the platform allows for offering directions to the nearest and safest area.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the platform would be its ability to integrate push

notifications for variation of conditions such as geo-political issues, weather, and disaster events.

In other words, the idea works on the premise that EP personnel need to be accorded real-time

information so as they may act accordingly.

Modern Day Executive Protection

Modern day EP varies greatly from the early days of EP. Key to note is the differences in

the level of resources available at their disposal now as compared to then. Moreover, modern day

EP has benefitted from learning errors and mistakes from the past such as the assassination of

President Kennedy. On this regard, the modern day EP emphasizes on the personnel utilizing

three main resources. The EP agent needs to coordinate with their law enforcement liaison for

intelligence briefs and back-up plans in the event of elevated threat levels. Moreover, the EP

personnel needs to research on geo-political and weather issues from the internet and media so as

to b able to integrate that information with their details. Lastly, the EP specialist needs to slowly

develop a reliable and trustworthy network of colleagues that may be of benefit to not only their

profession but the aid in the ultimate goal of protecting assets.

From the above, it should be apparent that the nature and composition of EP in modern

day framework has evolved greatly from the period before 20th century in a number of ways. One

such way involves the use of technology in assignments. These may include, radio, internet,

GPS, digital photography, and digital videos. More importantly, the use of these technologies

takes a more miniaturized form in that it is concealed from the outsiders. Moreover, the use of

these technology is further aided by advance made in transport where the automobiles are
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armored. Their apparel are also armored. Central in these changes is the fact that EP unit are

coordinated from a central command centre where intelligence in collected, shared, and

dissemination to EP units in the field.

Word count: 1204

Works Cited

Bradshaw, Mathem. Developing an Executive Protection Plan. 3 July 2014. 30 November 2014

<Developing an Executive Protection Plan>.

Harkinson, Josh. These Guys Will Stop You from Killing Your Boss. August 2011. 30

November 2014 <http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/07/ceo-bodyguard-

executive-protection>.

Hunsicker, A. The Fine Art of Executive Protection: Handbook for the Executive Protection

Officer. Boca Raton: Universal-Publishers, 2007.

IFPO. The Professional Protection Officer: Practical Security Strategies and Emerging Trends.

Washinton DC: ASIS International, 2010.

Jantzen, Brian. Top 9 Trends for Executive Protection in 2014. 11 March 2014. 30 November

2014 <http://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/85327-top-9-trends-for-executive-

protection-in-2014>.

McCracken, Tommy. 4 Trends in Executive Asset Tracking and Protection. 31 March 2014. 1

December 2014 <http://gisinc.com/talk/4-trends-executive-asset-tracking-protection/>.

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